The Lafayette offensive lineman finally spoke after chewing on his thoughts.

“First off, I don’t want to sound bad or cocky or anything like that,” he began. “Let’s just get that out there.”

With that, Johnson continued with his grandiose statement.

“We can be better than it was back in 2013,” he said.

“It” is Ole Miss’ 2013 signing class — a group that finished fourth in the nation according to 247 Sports. That class included elite prospects like Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil and Laquon Treadwell.

“We” is Ole Miss’ 2016 class — a budding group off to a noisy start. And a group in which Johnson has high expectations.

“I’m going to go ahead and say (to finish) top three in the country is the goal,” said Johnson, one of three four-stars committed to the Rebels. “Nothing less. I have high hopes for us.”

Johnson isn’t alone there.

North Panola athlete Justin Connor, who joins Johnson and Oxford wide receiver D.K. Metcalf to make up the Rebels’ current 2016 group, echoes Johnson’s enthusiasm.

They also know their class’s current No. 1 ranking for 2016 means little with so much time left on the recruiting calendar.

But both believe the recruiting success can be sustained, citing a winding list of reasons as proof.

To start, the state looks talent rich in 2016 — which Johnson said bodes well for the Rebels because of what he calls “unrivaled” Mississippi pride.

“Mississippi is just different. People want to play for their state,” Johnson said. “A lot of our guys are like that. You can’t find that everywhere. When you get the opportunity to play for your home state, why wouldn’t you? I think we’ll get tons of great in-state kids to join up.”

So far, so good.

All three members in the 2016 class are from Mississippi. And more could be joining.

Both Johnson and Connor did some Ole Miss recruiting at last week’s Southern Elite Top 150 Combine. Callaway offensive lineman Javious Bardney is just one of their many targets. The four-star mauler called the Rebels his leader.

“It’s home there,” Bardney said. “You can’t really beat Ole Miss. The guys in the (2016) class are real tight. They’re like a family. They’re gonna be good. They’re off to a fast start.”